Objective To investigate the association of the urinary levels of monohydroxy polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (OH-PAHs) metabolites with stage 1 high blood pressure (HBP) in a population.

Methods In September 2017, a questionnaire survey was performed among the workers from a large enterprise in Hechi, Guangxi and among 1 608 workers participating in the investigation, 429 were included as subjects. A questionnaire survey and physical examination were performed for these subjects, and their urine samples were collected. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used to measure the concentrations of 7 kinds of OH-PAHs metabolites in urine. The independent samples t-test and the chi-square test were used to compare the baseline data of the population, and the Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the urinary levels of OH-PAHs metabolites between the stage 1 HBP group and the normal blood pressure group; a binary logistic regression model was used to analyze the association between the levels of OH-PAHs in urine and stage 1 HBP in this population, and a multiplicative model was used to analyze the interactions of age, body mass index (BMI), drinking, smoking, and OH-PAH metabolites.

Results There were significant differences in age, BMI, gender, and drinking between the stage 1 HBP group and the normal blood pressure groups (P < 0.01). As for the 7 kinds of OH-PAH metabolites in urine, 1-hydroxynaphthalene had the highest detection rate of 95.80%, followed by 2-hydroxynaphthalene (95.34%), 1-hydroxypyrene (38.93%), 2-hydroxyfluorene (22.61%), 9-hydroxyfluorene (17.95%), 3-hydroxyfluorene (16.32%) and 9-hydroxyphenanthrene (8.16%). After adjustment for confounding factors, the logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of stage 1 HBP in the high 1-hydroxynaphthalene group (Q4 group, ≥ 0.55 μg/mmol creatinine) was 2.11 times that in the control group (Q1 group, < 0.10 μg/mmol creatinine) (odds ratio=2.11, 95% confidence interval: 1.07~4.17, P < 0.05).

Conclusion The increase in the urinary level of 1-hydroxynaphthalene may be a risk factor for stage 1 HBP.